The 2008–09 season was

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club Paris Saint-Germain's 36th professional season, their 36th season in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

and their 35th consecutive season in French top-flight. Paris Saint-Germain was managed by

Paul Le Guen Paul Joseph Marie Le Guen (, ; born 1 March 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Ligue 2 club Le Havre. During his playing career, Le Guen played as a midfielder, and enjoyed a su ...

. The capital club was chaired by Charles Villeneuve until Sébastien Bazin took over. Paris Saint-Germain was present in the

2008–09 Ligue 1 The 2008–09 Ligue 1 season was the 71st since its establishment. Bordeaux became champions for the sixth time on the last weekend of the season. The fixtures were announced on 23 May 2008. The season began on 9 August 2008 and ended on 30 May ...

, the

2008–09 Coupe de France The 2008–09 Coupe de France was the 92nd season of the French most prestigious cup competition and was open to all clubs in French football, as well as seven teams from overseas departments and territories (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martiniq ...

and the

2008–09 Coupe de la Ligue The 2008–09 Coupe de la Ligue began on 19 August 2008, and its final was held on 25 April 2009 at the Stade de France. The former defending champions, Paris Saint-Germain, were initially barred from participating in the cup after a group of PS ...

. Last season's League Cup win allowed the capital club to participate in the

2008–09 UEFA Cup The 2008–09 UEFA Cup was the 38th season of the UEFA Cup football tournament. The final was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home ground of Fenerbahçe, in Istanbul on 20 May 2009. This season was the final one to use the UEFA Cup for ...

. Paris Saint-Germain's average home attendance for the 2008–09 season was 40,902, the second-highest in the Ligue 1. Last season,

Alain Cayzac Alain Cayzac, born in Évreux, Eure on 2 June 1941 is a French advertising agent and was the president of the Paris Saint-Germain Football Club between June 2006 and April 2008. A graduate of HEC Paris, Alain Cayzac began his career as an adver ...

resigned with four games remaining and Paris Saint-Germain was in the relegation zone. Cayzac was temporarily replaced by Simon Tahar, then succeeded by Charles Villeneuve, days after Paris Saint-Germain maintained Ligue 1 status and was defeated in the French Cup Final by

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. He had relatively high ambitions for Paris Saint-Germain and stated his expectations from coach and former player

. Villeneuve declared that Paris Saint-Germain started the season with the prospect of regaining success and stability:

News

City of Lens Mayor Guy Delcourt wanted the match to be replayed after PSG fans unfurled a racist banner midway through last season's League Cup Final. The match was not replayed, but Paris Saint-Germain were fined and banned from next's year edition. The measure was later overturned on appeal. Charles Villeneuve replaced Simon Tahar as president days after the club maintained Ligue 1 status and was defeated in the French Cup Final by

. Charles Villeneuve announced that the Presidential Tribune was renamed the "Tribune Francis Borelli" to honor the former President. Pauleta, PSG's all-time top scorer with 110 goals, announced his retirement from professional football. Paris Saint-Germain announced that

Lilian Thuram Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (; born 1 January 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He began playing football professionally in his homeland with Monaco and played in the top flight in France, Italy and Spai ...

would not play for the capital club. His medical examination revealed heart abnormalities. Paris Saint-Germain and

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

decided, by mutual agreement, to terminate discussions and negotiations concerning Jimmy Briand's transfer.

Jérémy Clément Jérémy Clément (born 26 August 1984) is a French professional football manager and former player. Playing as a midfielder, he spent most of his career with two clubs, Paris Saint-Germain and Saint-Étienne. Playing career Though born in B ...

signed a one-year contract extension until 2012. Guillaume Hoarau received the "France Football Golden Star" trophy for his performance in Ligue 2. Paris Saint-Germain refused a €0.3 million offer from

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

for

Yannick Boli Yannick Toapri Boli (born 13 January 1988) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, forward. His previous clubs include Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain, Le Ha ...

as he was determined to succeed at Paris.

Apoula Edel Apoula Edima Bete Edel ( hy, Ապուլա Էդիմա Էդել Բետե; born 17 June 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Cameroon, he played for the Armenia national team. Club career Early career Ap ...

signed a new one-year contract extension until 2011. The renovations of the

Camp des Loges The Camp des Loges, also known as Ooredoo Training Centre for sponsorship reasons, located in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, is the training ground of French football club Paris Saint-Germain. The current version of the Camp des Loges opened in Novem ...

were completed on 4 October 2008. The entire process cost €5 million and was inaugurated on 4 November 2008. Guillaume Hoarau was named Player of the Month for October by the UNFP with 55% of the votes. Charles Villeneuve announced that Pauleta would become ambassador and supervisor of the capital club.

won the UNECATEF Fidelidade Mundial "Le Coup du Coach."

Stéphane Sessègnon Stéphane Sessègnon (born 1 June 1984) is a Beninese professional footballer who plays for Sirens F.C. in the Maltese Premier League. He is a Benin international, having represented the nation at the 2008, 2010 and 2019 editions of the Af ...

was named Player of the Month for December by the UNFP with 55% of the votes. Paris Saint-Germain announced that Charles Villeneuve would resign from his mandate as president-general manager ahead of the General Assembly. The Camp des Loges was recognised by the FFF as one of the best pre-training centers in France, being classified as Elite, Class 1 and Class A in recent seasons. Sébastien Bazin was named the new president of Paris Saint-Germain.

Péguy Luyindula Guy Luyindula Makanda (born 25 May 1979), known as Peguy Luyindula, is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Early career Luyindula began his career at Niort joining at the age of 18. In his first professio ...

was named Player of the Month for January by the UNFP with 55% of the votes. Guillaume Hoarau was named Player of the Month for February by the UNFP with 71% of the votes.

left Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season after the capital club decided not to renew his contract.

Jean-Eudes Maurice Jean-Eudes Maurice (born 21 June 1986) is a professional footballer who plays for UR Namur in Belgium. He is a typical 'Number 9' striker known for his speed and accuracy. Born in France, he represents Haiti at international level and was a me ...

signed a new three-year contract extension until 2012.

Transfers

;In Total spending:

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

10.5 million ;Out Total income:

14 million

Squad information

Kit

Nike manufactured the kits for Paris Saint-Germain and Emirates Airlines continued to be the club's main sponsor. Nike have been PSG's official kit provider since 1989. Emirates have been the club's partner since 2005 and the major shirt sponsor since January 2006. Emirates Airlines confirmed their commitment to PSG by extending the current partnership until 2014. ''Les Parisiens'' received brand new home and away kits. The home shirt had PSG's traditional colors. It was dark blue with a vertical red band and two thinner white stripes on the middle of the chest which disappeared under the main sponsor's logo in white writing. The borders of the sleeves were partly red. The away shirt had a simple design. Silver was the main color while the sponsor's logo was accented by a red background bordered by white and black thin stripes. The shirts had the club badge on the top-left, the Nike logo on the top-right and the club sponsor Fly Emirates written across the middle.

Board & Staff

Pre-season

Paris Saint-Germain opened their preseason campaign with a victory over Pontivy. The capital club then achieved a new triumph, this time over

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

side Châteauroux in Port Crouesty. Paris Saint-Germain continued their pre-season preparations for the coming season with a draw against

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

. The capital club then defeated Clermont scoring two unanswered goals and confirming that

's squad is in top form just two weeks before the start of the 2008–09 campaign. Paris Saint-Germain recorded two consecutive victories over Belgian sides

Gent Gent is a shortened form of the word gentleman. It may also refer to: * Ghent (Dutch: Gent), a Belgian city ** K.A.A. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** K.R.C. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** Gent RFC, a rugby club in Ghent ** .gent, a ...

and

Roeselare Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The ...

with youngster

scoring his third goal in pre-season. Invited by Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães for the first time, Paris Saint-Germain attended the Torneio Cidade de Guimarães, were ''Les Rouge-et-Bleu'' suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of the hosts in their opening match. Benfica showed great capacity and came back from two goals down to equalize against Paris Saint-Germain in the second day of the tournament. Just three days before the start of the season, ''Les Parisiens'' finished their pre-season preparations with a superb victory over Qatari side

Al-Khor Al Khor ( ar, الخور; also spelled ''Al Khawr''), officially Al Khor and Al Thakhira, is a municipality in coastal northeastern Qatar. Al Khor City, the municipal seat, is located in the northeast coast of Qatar, around from the capital, ...

at the

. Paris Saint-Germain showed great character as the pre-season lived up to all its promise and more, being without any doubt a positive outing for Paul Le Guen's side.

Competitions

Ligue 1

AS Monaco made a winning start against Paris Saint-Germain's expensively-assembled team with a late goal.

Guillaume Hoarau Guillaume Hoarau (born 5 March 1984) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Early career Hoarau started his football career at JS Saint-Pierroise in his native Réunion. In 1995, Le Havre AC scouts co ...

scored his first Paris Saint-Germain goal as the capital outfit condemned last season's runners-up

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

to their first defeat of the season at the

Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin ...

. Sochaux got their first point of the season with a hard-earned draw at home to PSG. Paris Saint-Germain made it three games without defeat as their improvement under

continued with another Guillaume Hoarau goal earning them a narrow win at

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Mateja Kežman and held out for the 90 minutes to take all three points at home to

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

picked up their first win in four matches as they beat Paris Saint-Germain.

Nassim Akrour Nassim Akrour ( ar, نسيم أكرور; born July 10, 1974) is an Algerian footballer and coach who currently plays for Chambéry and coaches the youth team at Annecy, whom he represented as a player between 2016 and 2019. At international level ...

's third goal of the season gave promoted Grenoble an historic win over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes. Paris Saint-Germain's poor recent run continued as they let slip an early lead to take only a point from Nancy. Paris Saint-Germain staged a come-from-behind win at home to Lorient with a late goal from substitute

Loris Arnaud Loris Arnaud (born 16 April 1987) is a French-Martinican descent footballer, who currently plays for C'Chartres in the Championnat National 2 as a striker. Early career Born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, whose his parents is from Martinique befor ...

. Goals abounded as Paris Saint-Germain handed Marseille its first league defeat of the season, outscoring their arch-rivals four goals to two and denying them top spot on the table in a thrilling 'clasico' at the

Stade Vélodrome The Stade Vélodrome (; oc, Estadi Velodròm, ), known as the Orange Vélodrome for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1 since it opened in 1937, ...

. A bizarre own-goal from

Zoumana Camara Zoumana Camara (born 3 April 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is the manager of Paris Saint-Germain U19. After starting out at Saint-Étienne, he went on to amass Ligue 1 totals of 344 matches and ...

condemned Paris Saint-Germain to defeat at home to

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. Paris Saint-Germain coach Paul Le Guen blasted his players for being too soft at half-time of their clash away to

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, but despite an improved second-half display, the capital club fell to a second consecutive loss.

Ludovic Giuly Ludovic Vincent Giuly (born 10 July 1976) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger. Giuly represented France at international level, gaining 17 caps over a five-year period and was a member of their 2003 FIFA Confedera ...

's first goal for Paris Saint-Germain was enough to earn all three against a resistant, if largely uninspired,

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

who saw their nine-game unbeaten run brought to an end at the Parc des Princes. Paris Saint-Germain were too strong for

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

and took the points with goals from Guillaume Hoarau and Ludovic Giuly. Ludovic Giuly struck for the third time in as many games to give Paris Saint-Germain a narrow win over

in the capital as the leaders' cushion at the top was reduced to five points.

moved up to second in

after

Bruno Cheyrou Bruno Olivier Cheyrou (born 10 May 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Cheyrou was born in Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine. After success with Lille OSC, where he scored against Manchester Unite ...

's first-half goal proved enough to give Guy Lacombe's side a narrow win over Paris Saint-German. A first half double from Ligue 1's leading scorer Guillaume Hoarau set the stage for Paris's win, their fifth in their last six matches, over

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

at the Parc des Princes.

struck twice against Auxerre to lift PSG into third as Paul Le Guen's men registered a fifth league win in six outings. In the race for second place behind autumn champions Lyon, Paris failed to keep the pace drawing at home to

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

Laurent Blanc Laurent Robert Blanc (born 19 November 1965) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back, and is currently the manager of Ligue 1 club Lyon. He has the nickname ''Le Président'', which was given to him ...

's Bordeaux thumped four unanswered goals past Paris to go within one point of top spot on the table, giving faltering champions Lyon serious cause for concern in the race for the title. PSG made it six wins from their last nine matches when they beat a tough Sochaux outfit at the Parc des Princes. Guillaume Hoarau grabbed his 13th goal of the season as Paris Saint-Germain moved up to third in the table thanks to their win over Caen. Paris Saint-Germain closed to within a point of Ligue 1 leaders Lyon thanks to an emphatic victory over Nantes. Paris Saint-Germain registered their fourth Ligue 1 victory in a row against Saint-Étienne to move outright second in the standings, one point behind Lyon, ahead of the champions match at home to Le Havre. Paris Saint Germain remained second, but lost ground after they were held to a goalless draw at Grenoble. Paul Le Guen's men made it three wins in four matches as they completely dominated a tentative Nancy outfit to consolidate second place on the L1 table. A superb first-half strike from Ludovic Giuly and a

Mickaël Landreau Mickaël Vincent André-Marie Landreau (; born 14 May 1979) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Landreau holds the record for Ligue 1 appearances, with 618 for Nantes, Paris Saint-Germain, Lil ...

penalty save were enough to give Paris Saint-Germain a narrow win at Lorient and ease Paul Le Guen's side within a point of leaders Lyon. Marseille are up to second in Ligue 1 after they emerged victorious over a ten-man Paris Saint-Germain in the 'classico'. Toulouse continued their string of strong results with a comprehensive win at home to Paris, their tenth victory in 14 matches in all competitions in 2009, to climb back to fourth place on the Ligue 1 table. Paris Saint-Germain beat Nice at the Parc des Princes to maintain their title challenge. Lille's goalless draw with visiting Paris was a case of two points dropped against an uninspired opposition and did little to help either side's fortunes, with both clubs leapfrogged by Toulouse, winners over Nantes. Paris Saint-German moved into fourth place as the club from the capital eased past bottom side Le Havre. Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain raised the curtain on a decisive weekend of football with a heart-stopping draw at the

Stade Gerland The Stade de Gerland (known for sponsorship reasons as Matmut Stadium de Gerland and otherwise known as Municipal de Gerland or Stade Gerland ) is a stadium in the city of Lyon, France, which serves as home to Top 14 rugby club Lyon OU. It has a ...

which, in the end, suited neither side. Paris Saint-Germain missed out on the chance to go above Lyon into third as they were narrowly beaten by Rennes. Mateja Kezman's second league goal of the season gave Paris Saint-Germain a narrow win at Le Mans to keep them in contention for a top-three finish. Paris saw their chances of overtaking Lyon into third place and a Champions League qualifying spot dealt a blow as they succumbed to in-form Auxerre at the Parc des Princes. PSG's ambitions of European football were in the balance after they saw a stubborn Valenciennes side come from behind at the

Stade Nungesser Stade Nungesser was a multi-use stadium in Valenciennes, France. It is currently used mostly for football matches and was the home stadium of Valenciennes FC through the 2010–11 season. The stadium is able to hold 16,457 people and was built in ...

. Paris needed to win at home to Monaco to clinch fourth or fifth and a place in Europe next season, but a tepid display from Paul Le Guen's men in a goalless draw left them empty-handed after being tipped as potential title contenders throughout the season.

League table

Results summary

Results by round

Coupe de France

Paris Saint-Germain entered the French Cup having last won the cup in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and having reached last season's

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, narrowly losing to

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a men and women's French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The men play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. Founded in 1950, th ...

in a highly contested match. PSG started from the round of 64, as all

clubs did. The draw for the last-64 of the French Cup saw Paris Saint-Germain paired with CFA club

Montluçon Montluçon (; oc, Montleçon ) is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as ...

. Paris Saint-Germain squeezed through to the last-32 of the French Cup, but failed to impress against fourth division outfit, Montluçon.

's side had

to thank for the only goal of the game. The draw for the last-32 pitted "Les Parisiens" with fourth tier side Gazélec Ajaccio. Paris Saint-Germain beat lower league opposition to progress to the last 16 of the French Cup. Mateja Kežman struck twice for PSG as they beat Gazélec Ajaccio. The

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

n striker scored once in either half before defender

Sammy Traoré Sammy Traoré (born 25 February 1976 in Créteil) is a French and Malian football manager, as a player his preferred position was a defender. He made good use of the stepover technique, rarely seen in defenders, to maintain possession and also ...

helped secure Paul Le Guen's men a place in the next round. Last season's losing finalists PSG were drawn away to third tier club

Rodez Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the ...

for the last-16. Paris Saint-Germain were sensationally knocked out of the French Cup, succumbing to a defeat after extra-time to lowly Rodez.

Coupe de la Ligue

Holders Paris Saint-Germain were through to the last-16 of the League Cup after

Fabrice Pancrate Fabrice Dimitri Pancrate (; born 2 May 1980) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Career in France Pancrate started his professional career in Louhans-Cuiseaux in 1999, where he played two matches. ...

's goal proved enough for the reigning champions to beat AS Monaco. Paris Saint-Germain's defence of the League Cup continued against Nancy after the draw for the last-16, quarter-finals and semi-finals was made.

scored both goals in Paris Saint-Germain's victory over Nancy to send the holders through to the quarter-finals of the League Cup. In a dramatic twist of fate, Paris Saint-Germain hosted Lens in the pick of the quarter-final draw. In a remake of last season's

, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Lens at the Parc des Princes to qualify for the semi-finals of the League Cup, where they met

, winners over Châteauroux. Late goals from

Souleymane Diawara Souleymane Diawara (born 24 December 1978) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a defender. He spent most of his career in France, playing for Le Havre, Sochaux, Bordeaux, Marseille and OGC Nice, apart from a brief stint ...

and Wendel added to David Bellion's first-half strike put the icing on the cake as Bordeaux cruised past Paris Saint-Germain in the League Cup semi-final at the Parc des Princes.

UEFA Cup

Paris Saint-Germain entered the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

at the first round, 18 months after their last European clash against Benfica on 15 March 2007. Sitting in third place on the

, Paris Saint-Germain were taking on

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

club Kayserispor, unbeaten in the

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

. The hosts, however, lost their unbeaten record in the final minute thanks to

goal, just a few minutes after the Turkish side had equalized through

Delio Toledo Delio César Toledo Rodas (born 2 October 1976) is a Paraguayan retired footballer who played as a left back. During his professional career, he represented clubs in five countries, competing mainly in La Liga. Toledo appeared with the Paragu ...

. Paris Saint-Germain qualified to the group stage at Kayserispor's expense in a scoreless match at the

. The capital club was inserted into Group A with

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

club Schalke 04,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

side

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, Spanish outfit

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system ...

, and Dutch club

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germ ...

. Despite his faith in young players, Paul Le Guen's men were overwhelmed by the better organized and more experienced Germans, who were quickly firming as Group A favourites. Schalke went ahead early through

Larrys Mabiala Larrys Mabiala Destin (born 8 October 1987) is a professional footballer who plays for the Portland Timbers, having previously played for Turkish Süper Lig club Kayserispor as a defender, Paris Saint-Germain, Plymouth Argyle, and Nice. Born ...

's own goal before

Kevin Kurányi Kevin Dennis Kurányi Rodríguez (, ; born 2 March 1982) is a German former professional footballer. He played as a striker and possessed great aerial ability and finishing skills. From 2003 to 2008, Kurányi was part of the German national te ...

added to their tally, followed by Halil Altıntop.

Clément Chantôme Clément Jean Robert Chantôme (born 11 September 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Championnat National 2 club C'Chartres. A graduate of the Paris Saint-Germain Academy, Chantôme made a name for ...

's far-post strike in stoppage time came too late in a game where Paris Saint-Germain struggled to find their rhythm as Schalke pushed forward relentlessly at the

Veltins-Arena Arena AufSchalke (), currently known as Veltins-Arena () for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened on 13 August 2001, as the new home ground for Bundesliga club FC Sc ...

. Paris Saint-Germain blew a two-goal lead as Spanish side Racing Santander held the capital club to a draw at the Parc des Princes. Paris Saint-Germain rued the missed opportunities in the second half of their goalless draw with Manchester City but still had a chance of qualifying for the next round. Paris Saint-Germain qualified to the last-32 after a dramatic victory over Twente at the Parc des Princes. Late goals from Mateja Kežman and Péguy Luyindula saw PSG clinch third spot in Group A ahead of Racing Santander on goal difference. Paris Saint-Germain reached the last-32 and received a tough draw being given

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

side

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's hea ...

. Giant striker

marked his return by scoring two late goals as the side from the French capital finished over the top of German outfit Wolfsburg. Paris Saint-Germain walloped Wolfsburg in Germany for a convincing aggregate victory in the last-32. Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper

made a number of good saves to deny before Péguy Luyindula put an end to Wolfsburg's hopes of a fightback by netting a penalty.

Jérôme Rothen Jérôme René Marcel Rothen (born 31 March 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger. Rothen won 13 caps for the France national football team. He represented his country at the 2004 European Football Champions ...

doubled the lead on the hour with a terrific strike. Wolfsburg's Japanese star

Makoto Hasebe is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt. He played for the Japan national team, for which he served as captain. Club career Urawa Red Diamonds After gr ...

reduced the arrears with a fine solo goal three minutes later, but Luyindula netted his sixth goal of the competition with a header from

's cross. Paris Saint-Germain,

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

winners, marched into the last-16 where they faced Portuguese side

Sporting Braga Sporting Clube de Braga () (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese ...

. Paris Saint-Germain's European campaign was in the balance after they failed to break down a stubborn Braga side at the Parc des Princes. Jérôme Rothen came closest when he struck an upright in the second-half, which saw Mateja Kežman jeered onto the pitch by the PSG fans as he made his first appearance at the Parc since his infamous shirt-throwing incident during his side's League Cup semi-final defeat to Bordeaux last month. Guillaume Hoarau came off the bench to score the only goal of the game to give Paris Saint-Germain a win over Braga and see them join Marseille in the quarter-finals. The capital club was pitted against

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

side

Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...

and fared little better than Marseille as they were held goalless at the Parc des Princes. Paris Saint-Germain found their ambitions frustrated by a well-organised Dynamo side. A disastrous display by Mickaël Landreau saw Paris Saint-Germain tumble out. PSG travelled to Ukraine with hope, but were on the back foot throughout after

Ismaël Bangoura Ismaël Bangoura (born 2 January 1985) is a Guinean former footballer who played as a forward. Although his primary position is striker, Bangoura has also played as a winger and attacking midfielder. Club career Early career Bangoura began ...

had given Dynamo a fourth-minute lead. Péguy Luyindula struck a post with a header soon after, but Mickaël Landreau's poor goalkeeping put an end to PSG's European ambitions. He inadvertently punched a high ball into his own goal, before fumbling an Oleksandr Aliyev free-kick on the hour mark that allowed Ognjen Vukojević to score a third.

Start formations

;Starting XI

Appearances and goals

Other statistics

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Paris Saint-Germain F.C. season Paris Saint-Germain F.C. seasons Paris Saint-Germain